In this age of networked systems, many different devices are connected via computer networks, allowing more opportunities for devices to be controlled remotely (i.e., without physically manipulating the device). Additionally, one single-valued (i.e., determines one output) physical input device may receive inputs from multiple sources.
In this setting, remote users of physical input devices (i.e., users located away from the input devices (not physically manipulating a local device)) may not be aware of status changes by a local user to the physical input devices. Similarly, local users of physical input devices may not be aware of any changes made by remote users to the same device. For example, consider a physical input device that controls the temperature of a room. If the user within the room (i.e., a local user) is unaware of a change invoked by a remote user (e.g., at a remote monitoring station), the local user may not be aware of the change and may manipulate the physical input device again. The result of such control changes may be undesirable as long as the users are unaware of each other's input settings. Generally, when more than one input device may be used to affect a single output value, users may find it difficult to know the state of the other input devices and the actual output value determined.
In some instances, physical input devices may be stateless input devices. Stateless input devices are devices which do not visibly indicate to a user that the status of the stateless input device has been changed. For example, a knob which controls volume on a stereo may be stateless if, when the knob is turned to change the volume, there is no visual indication on the knob signifying that the volume has been changed (e.g., if the knob does not have a tick mark indicating the orientation of the knob). Reflecting changes in the status of stateless input devices is more difficult in a remote environment because visual feedback, for example, from the volume knob, is not available to local and/or remote users.
As controls of physical input devices become more virtualized and distributed, knowing the state of all the controls for multiple users is important. Conventionally, to allow visual feedback of the status of a physical input device, a motor may be added to the input device. This motor may drive the orientation of the physical input device to reflect the changes commanded by the remote user. For example, a motor may be added to control the position of a volume knob. By doing so, changes made by a remote user can be reflected to the local user by the shift in the position of the volume knob. Moreover, the motor may be replicated on the remote input device (e.g., a remote control, a computer screen with graphical views of the volume knob, etc.) so that the remote user also receives visual feedback.